“Helping someone through a horrible journey and making a difference to them is the most amazing feeling”
Jude Hogg, 66, has had a long and distinguished career as a nurse and said she will be looking forward to staying busy during retirement. She has already planned a trip to Canada alongside her sister and has numerous hobbies including reading to enjoy.
The nurse from Cottingham, who currently works as a specialist research nurse in haematology, said: “I will miss my colleagues and patients, it has been an honour to work with everyone I have worked with over the years. Some of these people I’ve known over 20 years.
“By the time I leave I would have been working 50 years. I work with a fantastic group of supportive, pleasant staff from the nurses to doctors and it has been great going to work each day. I love nursing and I adore my patients so I will miss it a lot.”
Jude started her nursing career at the Beverley Westwood Hospital when it was a training facility and was inspired to go into the profession by a family friend who was already working in nursing. The seed was planted when Jude was only seven or eight-years-old after her mother’s friend suggested that she should go into nursing because she was such a caring person. Ever since, Jude wanted to go into nursing and this led to her spending several decades of her working life in the profession.
Her last day at work will be on August 27, before taking a break. Her official retirement date will be September 28.
A love of travelling was reflected in Jude’s career as she journeyed to Canada and became a dual citizen. She spent time living in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver working as a private nanny. Jude returned to the United Kingdom around 35-years-ago and went back into her chosen profession.
A varied career followed including a stint working at St James in Leeds on the children’s cancer ward, working for the British Nursing Agency for around 12 months where she travelled around the country and spent time on the bank at the NHS where she worked somewhere different almost every night.
During her time at the British Nursing agency, Jude went to a variety of different places where she worked at locations including Milton Keynes, Northampton, and Great Yarmouth. The nurse said one memorable experience was when she cared for a police officer for a few months after he had been a victim of a hit and run in Leeds.
About 20 years ago she got a job with the haematology department and moved to the Queens Centre, at Castle Hill, and a few years after that she ended up in the research department there. She said it was an interesting experience overseeing clinical trials on different drugs for several diseases during her time in the department.
Jude reflected on her career: “You can’t begin to describe the changes in 48 years that have happened. I’ve seen some fantastic results, the changes since I first started in nursing years ago.
“The biggest change I think has been in diagnostics. We now have all of these tools and training that we didn’t have when I started. The developments around cancer have been great, even after the treatments and once they are discharged, patients are still supported.
“One particular gentleman that spent seven years of treatment with me, said I helped make the experience easier to go through and you can’t put a price on that. Helping someone through a horrible journey and making a difference to them is the most amazing feeling, it is indescribable.
“When you see them a year or two later looking fantastic, it makes makes everything worthwhile.”
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The soon to be retired woman said she was looking forward to visiting friends and family around the world. She also plans to take up some language lessons and to keep busy as she continues to volunteer at the Cottingham Civic Centre.
Jude said: “I plan do a bit of the family tree and I might take up bowling, I’ve just applied to the local lawn green association. “I’ve bought a bike so I will do some cycling and I enjoy walking so I will enjoy doing that, in between I will relax and read. Many years ago a patient nominated me for the Hull Daily Mail nurse of the year award which was fantastic.”
Jude had the following to say to any people who were thinking about getting into nursing as a career: “Make sure nursing is what you want to do and you are ready to commit to the profession. Try to be the best you can be and just persevere with it. Nursing isn’t just about academics, the thing that makes the difference is having the empathy that is needed for patients. I think it is one of the best jobs you can do and I recommend it.”